Cats & Sun Exposure

As humans, a certain level of sun exposure can be advantageous for overall physical & psychological well-being. I’m wondering if this applies to cats as well? During the summer months, my apartment can get *oppressively* hot even with AC & in an effort to minimize this, I recently hung blackout curtains on all my windows. It’s not pitch dark obviously, but no direct sunlight is getting in on the warmer days. I’m wondering if this might negatively impact my girls mood.

I don't think so. Cats like to warm themselves in the sun, but I've only seen them do it in the winter. Keeping the place cooler and more comfortable for them is probably more important in the summer.

DreamerRose said:

I don't think so. Cats like to warm themselves in the sun, but I've only seen them do it in the winter. Keeping the place cooler and more comfortable for them is probably more important in the summer.

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Both my girls sunbathe, but Ember does it daily & I've already caught her moving the curtains aside to look out the window. I agree that keeping us all cool is more important right now though.

As long as we're not in Australia or South America.

jisaacson214 said:

Both my girls sunbathe, but Ember does it daily & I've already caught her moving the curtains aside to look out the window.

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She may want to look out the window to watch nature, e.g. birds, squirrels, etc.
Although cats need some Vitamin D they generally get it through their food.

I have no information about cats on this but humans don't get Vitamin D from the sun if it's coming from the window. Direct sunlight to the skin is needed for that. We only get the bad kind of UV through the windows.

Also for humans even the Vitamin D from food doesn't really operate well without the sun. There has been some discussions about this and Vitamin D supplements in the recent years and as far as I'm aware there isn't a widely-accepted conclusion yet. (I'm a redhead, I must follow sunscreen-vitamin d news!)

Too much sun may promote squamous cell carcinoma in some cats.

For me, the idea of trying to keep the indoor environment below oppressively hot is a great idea.

neely said:

She may want to look out the window to watch nature, e.g. birds, squirrels, etc. ...

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Yeah, that ^ so it's a factor if the blackout curtains raising the boredom level or mood level.

bear said:

Too much sun may promote squamous cell carcinoma in some cats.

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^ Yeah, that, for some cats (like white cats, hairless cats, or cats with white fur or little hair on more delicate areas like the ears, face). My tuxedo cat has less hair on her ears (we call her, Bat Girl), and I really monitor the total time her ears enjoy the warmth of direct sunbeams each day.

Mine are indoor cats but love to roast in the western facing window in the summer afternoon.